Mark Kirk, Tammy Duckworth Poised for Bitter Senate Fight in November [Updated]

Updated at 10:29 a.m.

CHICAGO, IL – Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth both won the primaries in Tuesday’s Illinois primary election, setting the stage for what could be one of the most expensive and combative general election Senate races in the country.

Both races were called early. With 9,986 of 10,094, precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results:

DEMOCRATS

Tammy Duckworth: 64.3% (1,179,708 votes)

Andrea Zopp: 24.0% (440,952 votes)

Napoleon Harris: 11.6% (212,828 votes)

REPUBLICANS

Mark Kirk: 70.7% (914,485 votes)

James Marter: 29.3% (378,080)

Kirk, who is considered one of the most endangered Senate Republicans in the country, easily defeated Marter, an Oswego software consultant and entrepreneur.

In a victory speech, Kirk said he’s been consistently under-rated in polls, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

He promised “bold contrasts” in the general election campaign and said Duckworth “repeatedly has failed.”

Duckworth, who raced to an early lead against Chicago Urban League CEO and president Andrea Zopp and Illinois state Sen. Napoleon Harris, took aim at Kirk’s economic policies, saying they have “left factories idle and dreams destroyed.”

“We are going to lead on strength and not fear,” Duckworth said. “Unfortunately, that’s a message that’s lost on Mark Kirk.”

During the campaign, Marter accused Kirk of abandoning traditional conservative values. He voted against defunding Planned Parenthood, calling it “poor government to close down the government” over the issue, voted not to overturn Obamacare, and maintained immigration and gun control positions that angered many in his party.

Kirk made clear during the campaign that he considered Duckworth — who he once tweeted was a “naïve fool” — his main election challenge.

“My record speaks for itself, and I’m proud of it,” Duckworth has said. “I don’t have to defend my record. I’ve been a productive member of the House, and I have a long record of serving my state in uniform, in state government and now in federal office.”

Duckworth, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot who both her legs when her UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, became nationally prominent during the 2006 campaign for Congress, when she lost narrowly to Republican Peter Roskam of Wheaton.